More than the Norwegian ways...

More than the Norwegian way…

The excessive amount of information regarding the Norwegian way of living in this orientation is certainly signalling a clear message to international students. But why does it take Brit and German to explain it? Asked Jiann Chyuan.

After having the great impression about Norway and its people, pictures of Norway is becoming clearer for me, since I’ve been exposed to an excessive amount of talks and seminars regarding the Norwegian do’s and don’ts. And of course, I am surely benefiting from the kindness of my two lovely Norwegian flat mates in teaching me their language.

Steward Clark and Wolfgang Laschet, the adviser of NTNU and the Socrates Programme coordinator respectively, sparked the orientation beautifully with their extremely lively and hilarious presentation about the Norwegian odd ways. But as the names suggested, it wonders me why does it take a Brit and a German to deliver such a crucial presentation to 600 international students in the NTNU.

The answer is simple: the Norwegian are shy. Yes, the brain of every international student has been bombarded repeatedly with this exact same phrase. We have been told for endless amount of time that Norwegians are not cold, but they are only shy. But is that really true?

At least this is not in my case. I’ve to admit that I’ve got really lovely flat mates, and they always surprised me by initiating conversations with me. It could be just a simple greeting, for example, asking how was my day for the orientation. And very often, this simple question has, however, always turned into hours of chatting and exchanging experiences.

You may think that this is very common all over the world. But the truth is, to have a Norwegian to start talking to you? This is certainly something strange in this country. And if you have got them to invite you for a cup of coffee, that means an honour.

So, what are the other peculiarities of Norwegian presented by these two foreigners, by using a stunning SWOT analysis? To all Malaysians, Norwegians are punctual, extremely. The sensitivity of Norwegians to time certainly deserves the highest respect of everyone. It is not only applicable to events, it also reflects on their public transport, where you can find no bus reaching a bus stop 3 minutes later than it is scheduled. (More stories about transportation in Trondheim will be coming in the future.)

Brown cheese, as it name suggests, is eaten as food. But it can also be used as glue to repair the holes in your shoes, as demonstrated by Wolfgang in the presentation. And the advice to this Norwegian most favourite food is: get rid of it before trying to put it into your mouth. (More stories about food in Trondheim will be coming in the future.)

The biggest fish, not the well-known salmon in Norway, but the ‘dead fish’ that is alive on the street where you can probably seen when you are walking on the street early in the morning. Confused? It refers to drunk Norwegian who slept on the street. As famous as their shy characteristic, Norwegian certainly can be categorised as alcoholic addict. And I’ve witnessed once. (Again, more stories about Norwegian drinking habit will be revealed soon in Sambal Delivery Post.)

I have been talking a lot about the Norwegian odd ways. But in this whole orientation week, things than I’ve learnt are not only about the Norwegians. With 600 international students coming from all over the world, I’ve learnt a lot of cultures and gain a lot of knowledge about people from the other countries. I have benefited, and I’m sure you are going to, because I’ll make sure all the knowledge will be put in my future posts. Therefore, check out Sambal Delivery Post more often in the future.

Sorry again for the pictures. I’m compiling them.